Dearest Friends,
Blessings
1. Again today, at a public school, I stepped between children and a teacher who was hitting them. The blessing is that as the teachers watched how the children listened to us, their hearts opened to talking with us about another way to teach. Over 500 children were so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. It was a hard lesson to ignore. We had an amazing conversation. Again, hope grows. Ironically, the worst of the teachers was very pregnant.
2. Hundreds and hundreds of children found their hope in Jesus today. Praise God!
3. At one school, they lined both sides of the walk and sang, "You are welcome in the name of the Lord." They had even prepared a special traditional dance for us. This was at a private Christian school.
4. At the only wealthy, private school that we have scheduled in Nigeria, we were turned away at the gates by over zealous security guards. It was our 5th show today and it would have been so easy to be offended and not return. We know it is not about us and how we are treated, but about the children’s need to hear Jesus. When the owner called us back, we reloaded everything that we had just unloaded and went and did the show. The owner was not apologetic, even though she had left all of us in the full sun for a very long time. It just does not matter. Many children came to Jesus. Our Nigerian team had a good lesson in practicing humility.
5. One group of children was incredibly responsive to everything we did. I had to tell the story while dodging 2 huge columns that consistently blocked some of the children’s view. As the children finished praying, 3 white doves flew into the room. Okay….it was actually 3 really fat white pigeons, but it still reminded me that all that happens is only because of God’s Holy Spirit.
6. My collection of sticks is growing. Today, I took 2 very large sticks off of a teacher at a "Christian" school that was run by a pastor’s wife. They were as big around as my thumb and were 3 feet long. I could have used one for a walking cane and they hit they children with them. Afterwards, I spoke to the pastor’s wife and challenged her to change her school or answer to God for her failure to protect the children. Keep praying! This problem exists because children are not valued as God values them.
Funny Things…Different Things
Today, I saw a new church sign that made me smile. It was called "Wonders of Christ Solution Palace." Nigerians love the word "international". It shows up in many church names, store names, and lots of school names. One pastor greeted us at a puppet show wearing a bright yellow sequin trimmed outfit…not what you would expect to see on an American pastor. I liked it!
Prayer Requests
Tomorrow, Thursday is our last day to do shows. We have 4 shows scheduled. On Friday, we will clean and repair the equipment. We spent yesterday training the Nigerian team, but I still have a few more listen I need to teach on Friday. On Saturday, we begin our journey home. we will arrive very early in Atlanta Sunday morning. Pray for the Nigerian children to hold onto Jesus!
In Jesus,
Linda for Heather, Mykayla, and Paige